Copyright by Guiniviere Marie Webb 2010
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Copyright by Guiniviere Marie Webb 2010 The Thesis Committee for Guiniviere Marie Webb Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: Origins and Philosophy of the Butler Art Gallery and Labor Museum at Chicago Hull-House APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Paul E. Bolin Melinda M. Mayer Origins and Philosophy of the Butler Art Gallery and Labor Museum at Chicago Hull-House by Guiniviere Marie Webb, BS Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin December 2010 Acknowledgements I would like to thank a number of individuals without whom this thesis would not have been possible. Thank you to my advisor Dr. Paul Bolin who has been a great listener and storyteller, as well as a mentor in my learning more about historical practice. Thank you also to Dr. Melinda Mayer for being a reader on this thesis committee. I would also like to thank my husband Don Webb for his tremendous support and encouragement, and to Dr. Jay Ulbricht for his wonderful stories about living in Chicago. This paper could not have been written without Jane Addams and the Residents of Hull-House, including their untiring work for social justice. I also wish to thank Dr. Suzanne Seriff for her thought provoking dialogue in The Forgotten Gateway exhibit, to Dr. Ian Hodder for showing me how to make what I seek, and to the Pythagoras Society, for opening the way. December 2010 iv Abstract Origins and Philosophy of the Butler Art Gallery and Labor Museum at Chicago Hull-House Guiniviere Marie Webb, MA The University of Texas at Austin, 2010 Supervisor: Paul E. Bolin Jane Addams influenced the lives of many immigrant Chicagoans through offering a variety of community oriented services including art education programs at the Hull-House. This study examines the origins and philosophy of both the Butler Art Gallery and Labor Museum, and discusses each program’s role for residents, visitors, and guests of Hull-House. In addition to providing a historical basis for Jane Addams as an art educator, this study discusses the techniques for community organization that were utilized by Hull-House residents, including Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. v Table of Contents Abstract........................................................................................................................... v List of Figures..............................................................................................................viii Chapter I: Introduction to the Study................................................................................. 1 Central Research Question.......................................................................................3 Problem Statement ..................................................................................................3 Motivations for Research.........................................................................................3 Scope of Work.........................................................................................................4 Hypothesis/Speculation ...........................................................................................7 Definition of Terms...............................................................................................10 Limitations of Study..............................................................................................11 Benefits to the Field of Art Education....................................................................11 Chapter II: Review of Pertinent Literature and Research Framework............................. 13 Introduction to Historical Research........................................................................13 The Value of History.............................................................................................15 Can History be Objective?.....................................................................................16 Paradigm Shifts in History.....................................................................................18 Biography in Historical Research ..........................................................................20 Primary and Secondary Source Materials Review..................................................26 Special Archival Collections..................................................................................30 Chapter III: Historical Overview of Chicago Hull-House and Jane Addams' Philosophy of Community Building...................................................................... 32 Settlement House Philosophy and Social Welfare..................................................33 Labor Conditions and Immigration ........................................................................36 First Community Programs at Hull-House .............................................................36 Chapter IV: Childhood through Early Years at Hull-House ........................................... 46 Childhood..............................................................................................................46 Rockford Seminary................................................................................................51 Travels ..................................................................................................................53 Early Days of Hull-House......................................................................................55 The Hull-House: A First Among Firsts..................................................................57 The Beginning of Art at the Hull-House ................................................................58 The Butler Art Gallery...........................................................................................61 Chapter V: The Labor Museum and Its Relationship to Immigration............................. 65 Immigration to the United States ...........................................................................65 vi Rational for the Labor Museum and its impact.......................................................72 Labor Museum Philosophy....................................................................................77 Chapter VI: Using the Labor Museum Exhibit Model to Understand One Issue in Museums Today ................................................................................................... 89 Two Museums, One Shared Roof ..........................................................................89 The Forgotten Gateway Exhibit.............................................................................93 A Modern Immigrant Experience ..........................................................................96 Participatory Galleries vs. Participation in Museums .............................................98 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 102 Appendix .................................................................................................................... 104 Timeline of Immigration to the United States 1815-1950..................................... 104 References .................................................................................................................. 106 vii List of Figures Fig. 1.1 Photo taken of Jane Addams 1878, prior to her leaving for Rockford Seminary.1 Fig. 3.1 Advertisement for land in Iowa and Nebraska, not part of the original Oklahoma land race territories. .......................................................................................................1 Fig. 3.2 Toynbee Hall in 1902........................................................................................1 Fig. 3.3 Child Garment Worker alongside adults............................................................1 Fig. 3.4 Child in drawing class at Hull-House Art School ..............................................1 Fig. 3.5 Kindergarten at Hull-House ..............................................................................1 Fig. 4.1 Jane Addams as a child, age approximately eight years old...............................1 Fig. 4.2 Postcard created by Jane Addams as a child for her step-cousin Sarah Hofstetter ......................................................................................................................................1 Fig. 4.3 Phrenology is the study of the contours of the skull in the belief that it will provide spiritual insight. ................................................................................................1 Fig. 4.4 View of Hull-House from Halsted Street...........................................................1 Fig. 4.5 Hull-House library room...................................................................................1 Fig. 4.6 Entrance to Hull-House parlor, often used as a meeting place for art history lessons, as well as meetings of the Jane Club. ................................................................1 Fig. 4.7 View across the street of Hull-House to surrounding neighborhood...................1 Fig. 4.8 Hull-House art studio........................................................................................1 Fig. 4.8 Painting by Corot, one of the artists represented in the collection of the early Butler Gallery................................................................................................................1